Jet blast: No compensation to victim’s family

Mumbai: After a jet blast of a cargo plane allegedly brought down a hutment, killing 60-year-old Shivaji Thole on June 13, preliminary surveys carried on by the District Collector’s office has rejected compensation to his family on the ground that the accident did not happen as a result of a natural calamity.
“The police report was not very clear and technically speaking, the accident does not fit as an occurrence because of a natural calamity (in this case rains),” said Vishwas Patil, Mumbai Suburban District Collector.
“However, we are taking a very lenient approach to the case and I have asked our Tehsildar to consider the total amount of rainfall that took place within last week instead of total rainfall that occurred on that day, and based on that data we can provide compensation to the affected family,” said Patil.
On being told that the incident occurred because of a jet blast and not rainfall, Patil declined to comment saying that the police report was unclear.
The Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) calls the accident an incident that occurred outside the airport boundary and therefore, MIAL is not liable to pay any compensation.
19/06/08 Shashank Shekhar/Mumbai Newsline

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Categories: Airports Jun 2008, Safety Jun 2008